Bhopal: The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari described companies that were paid to prepare DPRs for roads and bridges as incompetent and frivolous, saying that some of the firms prepare plans while sitting at home using Google maps. Addressing the inaugural session of a seminar on the theme’ Emerging Trends and Technologies in Road and Bridge Construction’ recently held at Ravindra Bhavan, Bhopal, Gadkari voiced his disappointment on the poor quality of work being produced.
Pointing at those who prepare DPRs, Gadkari jokingly said those people would surely deserve Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri for their engineering brilliance. He said: “These people perform such a bad job that their planning of the projects is conducted from home using Google Maps only.” It is customary to charge a little more, but could the work at least be done flawlessly?
Fears For Site Visits
The Minister also questioned whether engineers do analyze the plans and if they visit the project sites before approving such plans. He asked whether they scanned prospective barriers like temples and mosques along planned line routes – a scenario that would lead to project hold up. They construct an entire road they later discover there is a temple or a mosque in the middle of it and then come here asking how to deal with it he said, respectoing the use of google maps for planning.
Aim of the Seminar
A couple of hours to the start of the seminar, the ruling BJP government in this state was represented by Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav and Public Works Minister Rakesh Singh who came to receive Gadkari into Bhopal. This two-days seminar has been designed to upgrade the qualitative construction of road and bridge in the state through use of efficient and timely technologies for sustainable construction. The event is to have key speakers drawn from the government and other players in the private sector to learn from each other as well as share information and new practices that will help boost the state’s infrastructure initiatives.
The emphasis on EPC Contracts alongside Technological Developments
On the second day of the seminar 20 October, the discussions will be based on the EPC Contract structure, scheduling, the Contractors and Assistant Engineers’ participation of contracts. The issues to be discussed in the seminar include dispute and challenge relating to a contract. At the end of the event, new technologies for construction of roads and bridges will also be presented in the form of panel discussions by the specialists.